Titans Getting Time Off They Normally Wouldn’t Have

John Glennon reports that a couple Titans have some rare time off due to the lockout, which otherwise they would not be able to have.

“Two weekends ago, my parents had a surprise 50th birthday party because both of them turned 50 in the month of April,” said QB Rusty Smith, who is from Jacksonville, Fla. “I was able to go home for that and surprise them. If we were having OTAs, I wouldn’t have been able to do that, so it was nice.”

But he quickly added a caveat: “I don’t want to sound like I’m happy that the lockout is still going because I’m not. I want to go to work and I want to work.”

Some Titans have been more visible with their addtional free time.

Free agent defensive end Jason Babin, for instance, bagged a bear during one hunting trip to Alaska and has another excursion planned. Free agent safety Donnie Nickey opened a restaurant in Sylvan Park, but it hasn’t stopped him from working out five days a week at D1 Sports in Franklin.

Then there’s wide receiver Marc Mariani, one of about 10 to 15 players working out at Father Ryan High School for the better part of two months.

Mariani said he’s been able to spend a little more time back home in Montana than he suspects he would during a regular offseason. But like a number of his teammates, he’d prefer to be on the clock.

“Me being a rookie, I don’t really know what a real offseason is like. But to me, 6-10 (the Titans’ 2010 record) wasn’t good enough,” Mariani said. “I think it would be more beneficial to be working together as a team and building the foundation for this season.

“Free time is what it is and I guess everybody does what they feel they want to. But this is our job … I just wish we could be together and working out and building that camaraderie for 2011.”